Seventeen notes!
Eighteen notes!
Nineteen notes!
In the end, Ian Song played twenty notes at once—far surpassing the original difficulty of "Requiem Fantasia."
Backstage, Shelly Song's mouth hung open in shock, her eyes full of disbelief. Ian Song was so strong, so overwhelmingly powerful that she couldn't even think about challenging him.
"Isn't Ian Song's piece just awful to listen to?" Yvonne Yang scoffed from the side.
"Mom, if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense! I bet, besides Ian Song, nobody in the whole world could play what he just played!" Shelly Song shouted angrily at Yvonne Yang.
"Is it really that amazing?" Yvonne Yang said, unconvinced.
Shelly Song couldn't be bothered to explain anymore. Her eyes stayed locked on the big screen, focused on Ian Song and his hands, which seemed to blur into afterimages. Her feelings were complicated—at this moment, Ian Song felt like a mountain she could only look up to.
Before, she always thought Ian Song was just a good-for-nothing parasite, so she looked down on him and refused to be seen with him. Thanks to her deliberate secrecy, almost no one at school knew they were related.
But now, he's become so outstanding.
Thinking about this, memories of her moments with Ian Song flashed through her mind. She had always greeted him with a cold face, but Ian Song never once blamed her. She remembered that winter in their third year of middle school, when their parents went to the countryside and only she and Ian were at home.
That night, she came down with a high fever while it poured outside. It was Ian Song who carried her to the hospital under an umbrella. To keep her dry, he shielded her with most of the umbrella, so by the time they arrived, Ian Song's clothes were soaked through.
Afterward, Ian Song stayed by her side at the hospital all night. She recovered, but Ian Song ended up getting sick himself.
That same year, she was harassed by two thugs, and Ian Song happened to witness it. He didn't hesitate—he rushed in and fought both of them, driving them away. He was left battered and bruised, but didn't care at all. Instead, he patted his chest and said, as long as he was around, no one could bully her.
Later, Ian Song suggested going to a martial arts gym to learn boxing. Her mom didn't agree, since it cost money, but her dad made the final decision and let Ian go study martial arts.
Her mom never complained to her in private that Ian Song was being immature or neglecting his studies by learning martial arts.
Looking back now, maybe Ian Song learned martial arts just to protect her better.
Thinking this, Shelly Song's eyes grew wet. In her heart, she whispered, "Big brother, I'm sorry."
On stage.
After finishing "Requiem Fantasia," Ian Song felt his ten fingers trembling. Even with inner energy, playing twenty notes at once was exhausting.
When the piece ended... there was no applause!
About five seconds passed.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Scattered applause started up, but quickly swelled into a tidal wave—continuous and unending!
The applause lasted a full minute before stopping. One judge couldn't wait and asked, "Ian Song, can I ask—how did you train your hands to play twenty keys at once?"
Ian Song took the microphone from the host and said shyly, "Maybe my fingers are just naturally flexible."
"You're too modest! I guarantee, even world-class piano masters couldn't play what you just did. You're practically a piano magician!" the judge continued.
"Thank you, sir, you're too kind," Ian Song replied humbly.
Another judge chimed in at just the right moment: "Mr. Li's description of Ian Song is spot-on. Did anyone notice? While Ian was playing, it looked like there were four hands above the keys. If that's not magic, what is?"
The director in charge immediately ordered the technicians to replay the segment where Ian Song's hands appeared as afterimages.
The wild piano music rang out again. On the big screen, the replay focused on Ian Song's hands during the twenty-note section. Sure enough, the camera showed four hands—you couldn't even tell which two were real and which two were just afterimages.
After hearing the judges' comments, the audience became even more amazed and confused.
There was no suspense left in this PK match, but the host still asked Evan Zhou for his opinion.
He readily admitted defeat, saying he couldn't play that piece.
With applause sending him off, Ian Song returned backstage.
Summer Xia came up to Ian Song, showering him with praise and flattery.
Just then, Ian Song noticed Shelly Song standing a meter away and walked over.
"Big brother, I'm sorry," Shelly Song suddenly said.
When Ian Song heard Shelly call him 'big brother,' he was stunned at first—then overjoyed. How many years had it been since he'd heard her say that?
"Xiaoxue, you...!" Ian Song was so overwhelmed, he didn't know what to say.
"Big brother, I'm sorry. I was immature before and misunderstood you." Shelly Song continued, tears of regret streaming down her face. Especially when she thought about Ian fighting those thugs for her, or carrying her to the hospital in the rain, guilt flooded her heart.
"Silly girl, I never blamed you. What's there to cry about?" Ian Song gently wiped the tears from the corner of Shelly's eyes.
Yvonne Yang watched this scene and felt a strange sense of relief. She hadn't liked Ian Song mainly because he lacked ambition, but now his grades were excellent, his piano playing was amazing, and Shelly accepted him too—what was left to criticize?
So she walked over and said to Ian Song, "Ayuan, come home for dinner tonight."
It was the first time his aunt had ever invited him home for dinner. Ian Song was overjoyed and agreed immediately.
Shelly Song went on stage as the fifteenth contestant. With her skills, Ian Song wasn't worried she'd lose.
Sure enough, her opponent was strong, but still lost to Shelly Song.
At nine o'clock that night, in a deluxe ward at Riverstone First Hospital...
Justin Nangong, who had just woken up, looked extremely weak. At that moment, a beautiful nurse was carefully feeding him congee.
The TV in the hospital room was on, and it happened to be showing the PK round of the piano competition.
When Ian Song appeared on screen, Justin Nangong's face twisted with rage.
"It's him, that bastard!" Justin Nangong roared inside.
Watching Ian Song steal the spotlight on TV while he himself had been unconscious for over ten days, Justin was consumed with hatred. The thought that Ian was basking in glory made him want to kill him.
"Someone!"
Justin Nangong shouted.
A bodyguard quickly entered and greeted him respectfully, "Young Master, what are your orders?"
"I want all the information on that guy from TV—including his relatives!" At that moment, Justin conceived a plan for revenge. Not only did he want to kill Ian Song, but before that, he intended to torment each of his loved ones.
He wanted that bastard to know—offending Justin Nangong was the same as offending the King of Hell.
Meanwhile, Ian Song was sitting in the living room, having dinner with his uncle's family. Tonight's meal was especially lavish. As the PK match played on TV, his uncle praised him a few times. The promotion to Education Bureau director was already settled; on Monday, he would officially take office.